


$256,95

by hingabee, PunishedPyotr



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Attempted phone sex, M/M, Masturbation, Phone Sex, referenced psychological trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:29:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hingabee/pseuds/hingabee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunishedPyotr/pseuds/PunishedPyotr
Summary: Mantis spends $256,95 to get blue-balled.
Relationships: Liquid Snake/Psycho Mantis
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24
Collections: 2019 Xmas Supply Drop!





	$256,95

**Author's Note:**

> supply drop fill for wish #24 "terrible and awkward phone sex"
> 
> thank you so much for participating and reading <3

_Fall 1995. A one-man tent right outside a western-owned oil field in Saudi Arabia. 3:10 AM.  
_Unfortunately, Liquid’s phone rings.

Grumbling and half-asleep, Liquid gropes for it in the dark - he’d brought the phone with him for a reason, but he didn’t think he would actually be receiving any calls on it. It’s a shitty satellite phone and it’s the middle of the night, and he’s already on contract anyway so it had better not be a client calling.

“Who is this?” he croaks into the receiver, instead of greeting the other person normally.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Liquid finally opens his eyes, blinking and rubbing them. _Damn_. That’s Mantis’ voice, of course he recognizes it instantly… what’s he doing calling at this hour? True, he’s half a world away and obviously in a different time zone, but… “Mantis, you know it’s the middle of the night here…”

There are some unrecognisable sounds at the other end of the line, some shuffling and what sounds like the rustling of paper, maybe, Liquid isn’t exactly sure. 

Then he can hear Mantis breathe, no mask filter, quite restless and uncharacteristically uneven.

"I am aware, yes."

Liquid rubs his eyes, he would rather press his face back into his stuffy sleeping bag and forget about the world for a few more hours than try to deal with Mantis' very own simulacrum of communication.

"Then _why_?"

Mantis does not seem to have prepared an answer for that particular question, rather he clears his throat and does something that sounds like fingers tapping against the phone.

"I... simply wanted to check on you. You know I am always worried, considering your current occupation."

Raising a single eyebrow in the dark, Liquid scoffs quietly. Bullshit. "What do you want?"

"I just told you," Mantis mutters, sounding mortally offended for someone who left so obvious an opening.

"It's the middle of the night... even if you were worried, there's no reason to call right now. Wait until morning. Actually, don't. If I answered the phone, that means I'm fine - so you don't even need to call back!"

"Stop acting like you're trying to get rid of me."

"I want to go back to sleep," Liquid whines. He isn't really sure what's stopping him from just hanging up...

"No, don't," Mantis says. "When I said I wanted to check up on you, I meant I had some... questions."

"Questions," Liquid repeats flatly.

"Knowing you are still alive is good... but I want to know what you have been doing lately. All alone out there..."

"Who says I'm all alone?"

Whatever the noise Mantis makes is, it sounds mildly offended and Liquid has to stifle a laugh against his scarf.

"So you aren't?" 

"Mantis, why do you care?"

"...you're alone right now though?"

Liquid sighs dramatically. " _Yes_."

"Good. Then you have time to answer questions.”

“Shouldn’t the fact that I’m alive be enough for you…?”

“It’s not just about being alive, Eli.”

“I told you not to call me that anym—“

“What is your current assignment?” Mantis grills, “who are you working for? Has there been much action lately or are you just waiting for something to happen?”

“Hey! I have client confidentiality, you know!”

“…very well. How has your mental state been, then? Have the flashbacks lessened?”

“…” Liquid huffs. “There have been a lot of attacks on oil fields lately, especially western-owned ones, so I’m private security for one and…”

“Mm. Are you working alone for this one?”

“Yes, actually. I usually do, I—“

“What about your client?”

Liquid blinks. He’s too tired to figure out what Mantis is insinuating. “He doesn’t want his oil field blown up. I don’t really know or care about anything else about him.”

“Ah, so you aren’t making a habit of having personal relationships with your clients. How about the locals?”

“Eh…?”

“Well?” He sounds impatient.

“What does this have to do with…? What does it matter to you about my ‘relationships with the locals’?”

Mantis huffs. He is clearly unhappy with how stubborn Liquid is being, but between genuine stubbornness and annoyance, Liquid just does not have it in him to play nice for Mantis convenience.

"Eli," oh there it is again, "we both know you clearly struggle with... coping in a way that is not, ah- self destructive."

"I'm going to hang up now."

"No, no! Eli, for the— just a minute, please?"

Well, that must have sat well. Liquid tiredly grins to himself, after all it is not often he gets to hear Mantis say please and thank you.

“Well… maybe I can indulge you.”

“I am… just asking about how you have been.”

“You really think I’ve been out here making friends?”

“Not ‘friends’, no… but… who knows what sort of perverted things you get up to.”

“Perverted? So you just called me to ask about my sex life!”

“There is no healthy way to have sex with strangers,” Mantis snapped.

“Who said I was doing that? Anyway, it’s none of your business!”

“It _is_ my business.”

“How so,” Liquid says flatly, annoyed. Mantis acts so… _entitled_ sometimes. Like Liquid is an extension of him… or, he supposes, more accurately like he is an extension of Liquid, and frustrated at being cut off.

“You're just upset because there is a possibility that I am nice to people other than you."

Mantis makes a displeased sound. "I have told you before that you have a tendency to let yourself... get taken advantage of. Whenever you get... distracted by a person's obscene display of shamelessness you forget that people might have ulterior motives. I'm just worried—“

Liquid yawns and scratches his stomach. "You mean like back in London? That girl with the big-"

"I mean what I said!!" 

Huh, touchy. He is not exactly in the mood to fight with Mantis tonight, but behind all that fake worry and nosiness his friend's desperation is clearly visible. The poor guy just wants some attention - Liquid can respect that, their jobs do get lonely. 

Though this does not excuse calling him in the middle of the god damn night, he is going to have the worst dark circles tomorrow, dammit.

“I can’t believe you’re so worried that I might be sleeping with someone… you’re ridiculous.”

“Eli…”

“Why’s it so important to you that you have to call in the middle of the night?” Liquid huffs.

“I told you, I’m afraid you might get- _used_ —“

Mantis is talking funny - stilted - and Liquid thinks that maybe he’s upset, but isn’t really sure what could have sparked this. “The middle of the night, though? Or… I suppose you think that’s the best time for shagging randoms, is it?”

“You’d better not be.”

“And what if I were?” Liquid says, irritated. “What would you do then?”

“…”

“Well? Answer me!”

A rustle of fabric. Liquid is not sure if Mantis is in bed or not, it sounds like he is pulling up a blanket but it must be late afternoon for him and Liquid definitely knows Mantis to be a night owl. 

"I guess I'd have to watch you then. Make sure you do not do anything... too idiotic."

At first Liquid is not sure if he actually heard that right, between the rustling, his own desert wind ambience and the fact that this is entirely uncharacteristic for Mantis to say. 

He decides to laugh it off awkwardly, absentmindedly running his fingers through his dirty hair.

"Isn't that against everything you stand for though? You always complain about having stranger's perverted thoughts broadcasted into your head?"

Mantis clicks his tongue. "It's different with you - I am used to your specific kind of debauchery." 

Liquid has to quietly chuckle into his scarf, not exactly sure where this conversation is supposed to be headed, but he’s too tired too care or think about it in detail. Today has been very exhausting, if the fresh bandages around his left thigh are anything to go by - though Mantis does not have to know about that.

“So what — watching is bad enough, but what would you do if I do something ‘idiotic’?”

“…I don’t know.” He sounds strained.

“Would you kill the other person?” Liquid mocks, “rip their head off, make them explode in a shower of gore? Or perhaps you’d lay all the blame on me instead.”

“Perhaps.”

“And punish me.”

“…perhaps.”

“But I presume you wouldn’t _kill_ me.”

“Do not test me, Eli.”

“You would never,” Liquid says, plucking at the edges of the bandage. “Though I’m sure you’d do something strange, at least…”

“Strange?”

“You really dress the way you do and expect people to not assume you have… _unorthodox interests_? I don’t think you’d let me off with a simple scolding,” he teases good-naturedly.

“Wh… what do you mean, ‘unorthodox interests’? What are you implying…?”

“Do you want to tie me up?”

Mantis is silent. Very silent. So silent in fact that for a second Liquid thinks their call might have been disrupted or cut off. 

But then there is the familiar sound of Mantis grinding his teeth, something he likes to do when he’s upset or uncomfortable - and something only Liquid has the privilege of knowing about, because it is entirely inaudible if the mask is on.

"Hm? Come again?"

"... I said 'yes', you cretin." Mantis' voice is still too quiet but also somehow too close to the receiver at the same time. 

Liquid does not exactly know what is going on, but in his exhaustion he finds amusement in teasing Mantis and listening to his friend ramble in his worked up state. 

"You're such a hypocrite!" he drawls. "Always going after me for— ah! Shit." Liquid accidentally drops his phone on his face. He really needs some rest.

“-—li? Eli??” Mantis is calling out as Liquid picks up the phone; even though he’d just scolded him for using his real name, Liquid sort of has to admit he does like to hear it sometimes… especially with that weird breathy quality like right now… it’s like a dream.

Liquid yawns. “I’m fine, I just dropped the phone…”

“Oh. You should be more careful, that thing is delicate and _I’m_ the one who spent so much money on it for you.”

“I know, I know.” Specifically for these annoying calls, too.

“How could you be so clumsy… are your hands otherwise occupied?”

“Otherwise occupied…?” Liquid hums, rubbing his legs together absently. "No, it's just cold, so I'm trying to keep them inside my sleeping bag..."

"Cold? Are you dressed properly?"

He nods tiredly, before realising that Mantis can not see him. "Yeah."

"Even wearing a shirt?" 

"Mh..."

Mantis makes a breathy sound and it is somehow really weird but Liquid can’t quite place it — and feels inexplicably ashamed at thinking its weird. “I’m surprised,” Mantis says. “Normally you can’t resist showing off.”

“There’s no one around at all… I’m all alone.”

“Ah… I see.”

Wasn’t that to be expected, though…? He was camping out by an oilfield, of course there was no one around. “…I sort of… wish I had someone here right now. Since it’s cold and all…”

“A particular someone?”

“You?” Liquid ventures.

"I'm afraid not." Mantis hums thoughtfully. "Sleeping in a tent sounds quite uncomfortable, I'd rather invite you to my flat. Radiant floor heating, a full fridge, a king size bed..."

Closing his eyes, Liquid imagines soft white sheets and down-filled pillows.

"Would you like that, Eli?"

"Yeah... right now I'd take anything over sleeping on the ground— and this damn sand gets everywhere!"

Apparently satisfied, Mantis moves against the phone - or at least something does — the sound like nails tapping on plastic so close to Liquid's ear that the little hairs on his neck rise. 

"You are probably really sore from all the hard work you do, hm? How about a little massage, as a reward for the hardships you went through?" Mantis sounds weirdly excited and unusually friendly.

Liquid can not help but giggle at that in disbelief. "Mantis, that's weird!"

"Hm. But is it?"

"Oh, as if _you_ would give anyone a massage! You don't even shake people's hands when greeting them!"

Another unidentifiable noise. Despite the cold, Liquid feels a drop of sweat run down the side of his face. 

He squirms. 

"You're not just anyone though." 

Mantis voice is thick like honey in his head, he feels embarrassed at his associations - the unwanted need to reach out and graze another human's skin, the intense desire for warmth and intimacy and base animal feelings. He tries to push it out of his mind. Surely Mantis wouldn’t… would he…?

“What are you doing?” Liquid blurts out.

The movement on the other end of the line stops, leaving awkward silence. “Hm?”

“T-Talking about massages and all that suddenly… what’s gotten into you?”

“Is something the matter? Do you not… like it?” He sounds so crestfallen, somehow.

“Erm—“ Liquid isn’t sure how to respond because he’s not sure what’s going _on._ “It’s not bad, you’re just acting… unusual…?” He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud…

“…you worry too much. Don’t think about that right now.”

“Ah…”

“Where were we?”

“Er, massages…?”

Mantis hums and Liquid can't help but use his free hand, the one hidden in his sleeping bag, to slowly ride up his shirt, running his fingers over his skin gently - imagining it to be someone else’s touch. 

Mantis is right – it _would_ be nice.

"...are you still there?" Mantis suddenly asks, breathlessly.

Feeling caught, Liquid pulls his hand away.

"Y-Yes! I'm just so tired, sorry..."

"Mh. I got you, Eli."

Liquid lets his fingers wander again. "My back's the worst..."

"I'll take care of you."

He presses his thumb against the small of his back, the pressure a sweet sensation amidst the tense tendons.

"...I hurt my leg too."

“Oh? What did you do?”

“Nothing important…”

“Hmm. Well… I can take of that, too. Where is it?”

Liquid trips over his words. “The- the inside of my leg. Up near my… hip.”

“I see…”

“That’s not too much, is it?” Liquid asks, suddenly anxious.

“Too much? What do you mean?” By Mantis’ tone of voice it’s obvious he knows _exactly_ what Liquid means — but neither of them want to say it out loud.

“Are we— are we…”

“Hm?”

Liquid bites into his scarf silently praying that it is anything but that. His hand is on his thigh, toying with the improvised bandages covering the wound.

"Oh, no! You poor thing..." Mantis whistles. "What did you do?"

"I got distracted... wasn't supposed to work today so I was really tired and not really prepared for the job and then these guys just—“

Suddenly Mantis’ breathing returns to normal. "Eli, you need to be more careful! You promised you would take care!"

He sheepishly hides his face, as if Mantis could see how shamefully sweaty and red his features must be right now.

"I did- I am! But— Mantis, please..."

The breathing is back and Liquid licks his lips.

"Yeah?" 

"...please, keep going."

A shuddery _woosh_ of a sigh from Mantis, right across the phone’s receiver. “You’re eager, hm? You’ve been lonely… craving…”

“Craving…?”

“Yes. Haven’t you?”

“I— yes,” Liquid says.

“Won’t you tell me what it is you’ve been… desiring?”

Liquid isn’t sure how to answer that. “Well, what about you?”

“Hm? Me? I was asking _you_ -“

“ _I_ want an answer first. You want something. Tell me… tell me what you want.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you saying anything…?”

Mantis huffs into the phone. “I want to make sure you are okay… that is all. What are you implying?”

Liquid feels like the ground has been pulled out from under him. “Huh?”

“When I asked you what you wanted – I was _expecting_ you to say that you wanted to see me… it has been so long since we last met up, Eli…”

“O-Oh…” Liquid chews his lip, horrifically embarrassed. Poor Mantis. He’s just missing him, and Liquid has to go and make this about… well…

It should have been obvious that this is not about anything improper and he faults the fact that he has been running around the desert with sand in the most uncomfortable places for a few weeks now - the only things that help with letting off steam are lethal combat and, well...

Todays altercation had been unsatisfying at best and downright frustrating at worst, being shot and not even getting to take down the guy who did it has left Liquid restless and itching for _some_ kind of fulfillment and here he is projecting his own desperate thoughts onto the one person that never, not in a hundred years, would appreciate them.

...then why the hell is Mantis’ breathing still weird?

"Let's pay attention to your wound again, hm? It must be so uncomfortable..."

Liquid wants to touch it - make it hurt a little more so he can gather pity, some comfort. The bandage feels waxy and definitely like it is in need of a change, but he is too tired and-- maybe he can just imagine Mantis taking care of him as he falls asleep.

He hisses when his knuckles graze a particularly sensitive spot and on the other end of the line Mantis seems to perk up.

"That bad? And in such a disagreeable place on top of that – if only I was there..."

“It’s not– so bad,” Liquid stammers. “I’ve had worse.”

“Of course you have. Well, what do you need, then?”

“Hm?”

“Change your bandage? Ointment? ...perhaps something more soothing.”

“S-Soothing…” Liquid echoes, his mouth dry. How stupid is he? Mantis is trying to- to _comfort_ him, make him feel a little better when he’s all alone and injured, and Liquid’s dumb lizard brain is raring to go. They were only talking about changing a bandage! 

But, it was _so_ easy for Liquid to imagine Mantis’ hands wandering… straying from where the injury was on his thigh… he bit his lip as his fingers ghosted over the front of his underwear.

“Eli?”

“A-Ah? Yes? Sorry, I wasn’t…”

“You seem distracted,” Mantis says in a low voice. It shouldn’t be this hot in the tent, but it is. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing! I-I’m not doing anything. It’s just, er, it’s a bit stuffy in this tent… that’s all.”

“Oh, I see. Yet another reason it would be nice if you were here with me, instead.”

"You probably wouldn't want that, I've been out in the desert without a shower for a week now. I–" Liquid stumbles over his words, palm pressing flat against his crotch and grinding against it achingly slow.

Why is he getting hard from _this_?

Mantis’ chuckle is gentle, if not a little a little strained -- still it sounds so nice and comforting, anything but the judgemental coldness Liquid fears to receive in retaliation for his shameful behaviour.

"Do you not think that after all this time I might have become used to that? And besides, I have a nice big bath tub. You would let me help you scrub off all the stress you have been dealing with, wouldn't you...?"

It is embarrassing to think about being completely naked, exposed, while Mantis kneels next to him, fully dressed and gently cleaning him with a washcloth. Liquid can not help but mimic the touch, slides his hand back down and into his pants almost automatically and tries to muffle his small whimpers against his scarf at the first unsure stroke.

He should just hang up instead of taking advantage of Mantis' kindness like this, but…

“That’d be nice, mm?” Mantis hums.

“Mmmm.”

“It’d be like that massage I promised you, with the added bonus of getting you clean.”

“Yeah,” Liquid says breathily.

“Though I suppose it would be a bit of a cop-out to combine it with something else… I suppose you’ll just have to wait for a proper one until after I’ve gotten all the sweat and sand off you.”

Liquid can’t help but laugh - it almost turns into a little moan, but thankfully he catches it. This is shameful enough without tipping Mantis off.

“You sound sleepy,” Mantis says, his voice warm and affectionate and with a certain tight quality that Liquid can’t quite identify.

“I… I am. It’s the middle of the night, after all…”

“You haven’t hung up on me yet.”

“I don’t-- want to. I want to keep- keep listening to you.”

Mantis laughs gently. Liquid sinks back against his sleeping bag, imagining it’s chiding. “You’ve been so lonely, haven’t you? So deprived of basic human contact that you’ll even cling to an imagined touch from _me_.”

“I wouldn’t have anyone else… I mean...”

"Maybe I feel the same..." Mantis mumbles and his voice seems to move further away from the receiver as he speaks.

Liquid has to force himself to stop moving his hand, still not letting go of himself though. 

"...you're lonely too?" He asks.

"Terribly so."

It is but a sigh and the soft vibration against his ear makes Liquid shudder as he starts moving again. Mantis feels so warm and soft and right against him even though he is not _there_ and Liquid almost chokes on his own spit when he swallows down another groan.

"How c-can I make you feel better?" He wonders out loud, almost authentic in his pretended innocence.

There is no reply for a while, just muffled sounds -- Liquid takes that as a cue to continue touching himself until he gets frustrated at the lack of Mantis' voice and finally repeats himself. 

"Ah, just tell me what you are doing right now..." 

It sounds so low and distant and _sultry_ that Liquid pauses for a second. No. No, no, no. He is just imagining things, this isn't even real - just an exhausted, sweaty desert dream. 

Mantis would never. _Liquid_ would never --

He stammered. “Wh-wha-what do you _think_ I’m doing right now? I’m not, I’m not doing anything-!”

“Eli–“

“What could I _possibly_ be doing during a-”

“Eli, it is alright. Calm down.”

“...” He feels almost like he should snap at him more just for saying that…

“I won’t judge you, you know,” Mantis says sweetly. “Just tell me…”

“Are you-- Mantis, are we having phone sex?”

Deafening silence.

Liquid stops and blearily blinks at the phone through the darkness. Did Mantis hang up? There is no dial tone playing so he must still be at the other end of the line, maybe covering the receiver up with something.  
  
“...Mantis?” Liquid tries again, too anxious to focus on touching himself now, caught up with his inner terror at the thought of his friend being so appalled at his... _perversions_ that he would simply abandon him.  
  
Despite that, he is burning up inside his sleeping bag.  
  
Finally there is a sound – a shuffling noise and what seems like someone clearing their throat.  
  
“... _no_? What makes you think that? You– you really should know me better than that. Disgusting. Here I am trying to make sure you are doing alright, trying to help you with your issues and all you do is derailing my good will into something as base as selfish sexual desire?”  
  


Mantis sounds strangely defeated. “...and even if we _were_ , you’re not supposed to actually point it out.”  
  
“ _Oh_.”  
  
“Goodnight, Eli.” He says coldly.  
  
“N-No! Wait! I’m sorry!!!” Liquid cries and clutches the phone closer to his ear only to be greeted by the sound of the call disconnecting.  
  
For a seemingly endless moment he just stares at the damned phone again, then finally drops it next to his sleeping bag and buries his face in his scarf, overwhelmed by a mixture of shame and guilt.  
  
_He is right_ , Liquid thinks; _I am disgusting_.  
  
Slowly he lets his hand travel back into his pants, seeking to finish what they have started, the faux memory of false touch and affection guiding him.

**Author's Note:**

> epilogue: three weeks later mantis gets the phone bill and regrets his life choices


End file.
